Mini Chocolate Pudding Cakes

Sometimes, you just get a craving.  Friday night was one of those nights.  It had been a long work week.  I was tired, my blood sugar was low, and I just wanted a yummy little *something*.  So, I did what you do, and started monkeying around in the kitchen.

The result was exactly what I had in mind.  Rich, dense, decadent.  Hot from the oven, these little cakes were the perfect match for the last of the coconut vanilla ice cream I made for Manflesh's birthday last week.  Tonight, after a couple of days on the counter, they were still almost as good after a 5 minute warmup in the oven.

See that fudgey, pudding-ey middle?

You need:

1/2 cup (one stick) softened buter
a heaping half-cup of Medjool dates (10-12 big dates), pits removed - measure the fruit by packing it into the cup
3 eggs
a dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 tablespoons cocoa powder
5 tablespoons whole wheat flour

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Put the butter, dates, and eggs in a small bowl.  Attack with the immersion blender until the dates are ground smooth.  You will need to stir the chunks up from the bottom and re-blend a few times.  Add the salt and vanilla and mix thoroughly, then mix in the cocoa, and finally the flour.

Spoon the batter into 8 silicone muffin cups.  I have, and love, these, from Chicago Metallic. You can probably get away with well greased metal pans as well, but release will be trickier.

Bake for 8-9 minutes, or until the middles are not quite set.  Remove from the oven, and allow to cool just enough to handle.  Turn the cakes out onto a plate alongside some vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, or some other tasty white creamy thing.

To re-heat leftover cakes, try 5 minutes at 350.